Sep/090
How To Become A Landlord
To begin explaining how to be a landlord I have to begin with the definition first. A landlord is the owner of a piece of property that he rents out to a tenant for an agreed monthly sum called rent. This property can be just a bare piece of land or it could be a fully furnished condominium. There are things you should know about how to become a landlord.
The first know how of being a landlord is getting the piece of property. The luckiest of them all had a windfall and inherited their property thus becoming landlords in a jiffy. Somebody died and left them all their property to use or own.
The other type of landlord has to go about it the old fashioned way. Work hard and gather enough resources to buy your own piece of property. This is better than sitting around waiting for somebody to die for you to inherit their land or house. It also come with a lot of pride when you become a self made landlord don't you think so?
After getting the property then you can go about knowing how to be a landlord. One of the biggest tasks of being a landlord is keeping the property in tip top condition. No one is going to want to rent a rundown piece of property that is not taken care of.
Another thing you must do is to school yourself in the laws of property ownership of the local area. These laws will greatly affect the things that you as a landlord are allowed to do. For example you may not be able to erect a flat in a specified minimum space. The law would require the space to be bigger forcing you to opt for building a small house instead.
How to be a landlord also requires the knowledge of property values. For example if you inherited the piece of property you may want to have a realtor evaluate it. Only after you know the value can you then rent out the property. The amount will not only be fair to you but to the tenant as well.
One who knows how to be a landlord will know where to buy his property. Property in the Hampton for example will cost much more than property in Kansas. Less people are also likely to want to rent in the Hampton as they are mostly rich people who prefer to buy property instead.
A good landlord will know not to rush into buying property where crime is on the rise for example. He must always put in the time and energy to find the right location for his venture. If he wants to rent out a piece of land for agricultural purposes then he will have to buy in an area with fertile soil.
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Aug/090
Apartment Advertising -In Depth-Help
The largest challenges landlords all across America and in nearly every other part of the world face are vacancies.
Vacant units or vacated apartments translate to lost revenues because, as one might expect, vacancies do not bring in rental money. What's more, vacant apartments force landlords into quick action with a long list of to-dos in hand and that means extra expanses.
Let's take a closer look at all that is involved when a landlord finds him or herself facing a vacant unit.
Besides going through the closing transaction of (depending on the particular circumstances) refunding or retaining the security deposits which were submitted when the tenants first signed their rental contract / lease / agreement, landlords must also:
Inspect the unit for anything that is broken, that is missing and that is damaged. Fix anything that is broken, mend anything that is damaged and replace anything that is missing. Put on a fresh coat of paint. Perform a thorough cleaning. Possibly add renovations to increase the value of the newly vacant unit and the entire property.
Every day in which an apartment remains vacant increases the landlord's loses. And thus, putting it out on the market with a variety of apartment rental advertising resources while it is still being worked on is not only essential but it is also a smart apartment marketing plan.
Today, landlords have many options for advertising their apartments than their predecessors ever had. The following are the most frequently used:
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"For Rent" signs.Posting signs in front of apartment buildings that have vacancies is an advertising option that is time-proven and has been around for years. It is easy, it is virtually cost free and it works because many potential renters like to drive around neighborhoods to scope out the community and will, inevitably, be alert by such signs.
To increase the visibility of "For Rent" signs, landlords might want to conspicuously tie a few multicolored helium-filled balloons to them. Landlords might also consider posting several "For Rent" signs facing in different directions.
Box with fliers. Real estate agents who sell properties print up informative flyers and place them in a box attached to a post in front of the property. Many landlords have also adopted this technique which is effective yet cost efficient.
Bulletin boards. Posting flyers on communal bulletin boards at supermarkets, churches, cultural and civic centers, college campuses, libraries, etc. has proven to be very effective and very inexpensive.
Referrals.Acquiring potential tenants through referrals from friends, relatives and existing tenants usually harbor results in very successful.
Submitting ads. Submitting ads in the classified sections of local and national newspapers may involve a substantial expense but it will widen the pool of applicants.
Internet. In today's hi-tech world, everybody turns to the Internet for commerce, for information and so on. Needless to say, there are very many websites which provide valuable services for both sides - the landlords and potential tenants.
Once the potential tenants and the landlords meet up, the landlords' job continues into the next phase as the interviewing process begins and is then followed up with, checking referrals, obtaining credit checks, signing of rental contracts / leases / agreements and the transfer of funds. But that is a topic for another day.
Aug/090
Rental Property Advertising -You Need to Know This
There comes a time in every landlord's professional life when they must decide how to present their rental property to potential tenants. Apartment marketing, apartment advertising and apartment vacancy issues are all matters landlords must deal with on a regular basis.
But that. As part of their apartment marketing strategies and business planning, landlords must also determine whether to rent out their apartments and/or homes as fully furnished, partially furnished or as empty and unfurnished unites. Each one of these options has its own set of pros and cons which landlords should weigh very carefully against each other, against the current rental market, against the functionality and purpose of the property itself and, lastly, against the targeted tenants.
Fully Furnished Units
Understandably, furnished apartments charge higher rent and they have little or no competition.However, landlords must invest more in maintenance and realize that the pool of tenants is fairly limited.
Vacation rental marketing or vacation homes and vacation apartments are probably the most compelling reasons for landlords to fully furnish their units. If the property is intended for short term leasing (usually six months or less) to vacationing tenants, by all means, the units should be fully furnished and preferably decorated attractively.
After all, people on vacation will not be bringing furniture with them and they will want to be comfortable in a pleasant environment.
Homes and/or apartments which are intended for business people (travelling salespersons and touring lecturers, artists, athletes, etc.) should be furnished elegantly and provide all the business and personal amenities available at hotels such as room service, high speed Internet access, office space and services, gym, spa, and so on.
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These units are usually rented out for anywhere between several days to a couple of months and they are most often located in business districts and near airports.
Historic and vintage apartment units and homes should most likely be furnished to match the unique exterior. Since such furniture would usually include costly antiques, the targeted tenants should be adults who could appreciate such fineries.
Homes and/or apartments which valiant landlords are willing to rent to students near college campuses should be furnished with sturdy furniture that will, on the one hand, survive lots of abuse while, on the other hand, be cheap enough to replace when its needed.Dcor like college dorm rooms is appropriate for such units.
Partially Furnished Units
Newlyweds and young people who have had the time to accumulate some furniture but not enough for an entire household would most likely appreciate partially furnished apartments which usually include kitchen appliances such as a stove, refrigerator dishwasher and maybe a piece or two in the living room and/or bedroom.
Many singles of all ages and both genders have amassed a few pieces of furniture but would, in all probability, welcome whatever else landlords can offer. It is advisable for landlords to provide attractive furniture but as generic as possible so that it does not clash with that which is brought in by the tenants.
Empty, Unfurnished Units
When opting to rent their units as unfurnished, landlords must realize that the pool of tenants is virtually limitless but so is the competition.
The great majority of tenants strive to make their rental units as homey as they possibly can and they, therefore, want to personalize them. This means that they would want to rent empty, unfurnished apartments and/or homes and bring in their own furniture and miscellaneous decorations.
Jul/090
Rental Advertising – All You Need To Know
State and local government around the world have come to realize that unless a limit is imposed on the prices of certain commodities and / or services, particularly those which are considered necessary for health, safety and decent living; they may, under very specific circumstances, become unattainable to people within the lower socio-economic and the working classes like me.
Yes, "big brother" may be watching but he's watching out for the little guys - the consumers who are looking through listings of apartment advertising because they are simply in need of a place to call "home." Some may be looking in apartment advertisement sections of newspapers while other may be browsing through websites that list rental advertisements, but they all need affordable roofs over their heads.
Rent control is, for all intents and purposes, a price ceiling on the rent landlords may charge tenants. And this price control is legislated by a municipal or a national governing body which also has the wherewithal and the authority to enforce it.
To-date, about forty countries have come to appreciate the importance of putting a cap of the apartment rental marketing or rental property marketing of any other kind and the rates they charge. Of course, the laws pertaining to rent control vary from one country to another and even between cities of the same country.
For the most part and under many jurisdictions where rent control laws are in effect, rent control which intends to prevent rent from skyrocketing is not as simple as one might expect. Rent control determines a variety of aspects that pertain to rental marketing and those may include:
Identifying which apartments are affected to a greater or lesser extent and which are not. And those, by the way, usually apply to the older and larger apartment houses. Limiting of rent increases which are usually parallel to the rate of the current inflation as it exists in any given area. Controlling the frequency in which rent may be increased. In most instances, it is limited to once a year.
Written into the rent control laws of many areas are provisions that allow periods of "vacancy decontrol" at which times landlords are allowed to increase rent as they see fit and those provisions apply only when the said apartments have been vacated and are being prepared (cleaned, refreshed, renovated, etc.) to be re- rented to new tenants.Rent control laws that do not include "vacancy decontrol" are known as strong rent control laws but these are relatively rare and extremely hard to enforce.
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Needless to say, rent control has been the subject of countless political debates for many years and the pros and cons are constantly at each other's throats (not literally). Based on economic, social and moral grounds, those who are for rent control most often argue that:
Rent control protects tenants from unfair rent increases as a means of retaliation because they dared to ask for some maintenance to be done. Although indirectly, tenants get to enjoy a piece of the income tax benefits enjoyed by landlords. Rent control laws provide more incentives for landlords to keep improving their properties. Rent control adds more stability in market rentals as it enables tenants to lengthen their stay. Rent control defends a basic human right - decent and affordable housing.
On the reverse side of the coin, those who are against rent control claim that:
Rent control reduces the quality and the quantity of houses. Rent control laws are useless and ineffective. Rent control violates the rights of property owners and landlords.
Jul/090
Vacation Rental Marketing – Prevent Costly Mistakes
Apartments and apartment buildings or apartment complexes are income properties and business ventures to landlords everywhere in the world. As is true with any other type of business, landlords need customers to sustain them financially.
Customers in the apartment rental type of businesses are called renters or tenants and they are attracted through a variety of apartment marketing strategies which include but are not limited to apartment rental advertising in the printed media as well as through apartment Internet marketing at the countless websites which provide apartment and house rental advertising services to both side of the equation - the landlords and the tenants.
Because rental apartments are a business and in light of the current weak global economy, most landlords go out of their way to cut costs while at the same time attempting to increase their revenues and preserve the value of their properties.
Children may be viewed as miraculous assets to their families and friends but they are considered to be financial liabilities to landlords for a variety of reasonable, although unfair, reasons:
Children tend to be noisy and make their properties less desirable to other "more upstanding" tenants.As babies they cry; as toddlers they run around banging toys; as pubescents (pre-teens) they are prone to fits of vocal anger; and as teens they play loud music, have wild parties, smoke, drink and talk dirty. Children tend to be dirty and so many other tenants may not appreciate the potential stench. Infants produce diapers filled with poop; toddlers play with chalk, crayons and mud; pre-teens toss rubbish; and teens simply don't bath. Children tend to attract more children and soon their properties are swarming with little urchins. As if tolerating tenant children is not bad enough, children and parents of children tend to invite other children for playtime, parties and dates.
Apartment marketing strategies What You Should Know
There may be some or a whole lot of legitimacy and truth to these harsh allegations.However, we all know that tenants are often part of families which include children and they are every bit deserving as anyone else to have a safe and secure place to live, particularly when children are involved.
To protect tenants with children against discrimination, groups with authority and civil rights organizations have been instrumental in instituting laws that are aimed at preventing landlords from baring families with children into their rental properties. These laws are known as Fair Housing Acts in the United States but other nations have equivalent laws under different names.
Most of such laws define children as individuals who are under the age of 18 and they include children whose relationship to the applying tenants is biological, adoptive or through the legal proceedings of guardianship.These shielding laws also protect tenants who are expecting a child through natural birth, proceedings for adoption or guardianship.
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Regardless of how they are called, these laws make provisions for strict enforcement and punitive consequences for offending landlords. In spite of that, many landlords still continually dismiss tenants or prospective tenants off their properties because they have children. So, many of them end up being reported, sentenced and charged with heavy fines for breaking the law.
Now, if I may be so bold, I would like to offer a few words of advice to landlords and tenants with children.
To the landlords I would like to say: Get over yourselves and remember that you too were children once.
To tenants with children I'd like first of all extend my congratulations for being so lucky. Secondly, I'd like to remind them to be good neighbors by practicing good renting etiquettes and teaching their children to do the same.
Jul/090
House Rental Advertising – What You Must Know
It would be terrifically nice if people in relationships (personal and professional) got along just because. Unfortunately, that isn't what usually happens, especially when money is involved. So, governments and all kinds of official groups come in with rules which tell people how to behave under certain circumstances and how not to. Such lists also provide detailed lists which indicate how those who fail to follow the rules get reprimanded or punished.
Take that little bit of extra time with your Apartment marketing plan, because it should not be rushed.
The fact is that world population has been moving steadily upwards while the global economy has been heading downwards in the last few years. So, there are more people who are looking for more apartment rentals because many of them cannot afford to buy real estate. That is how apartment marketing became such a huge business all over the world (after all, people have to live somewhere).
Sets of guidelines have been written into official books as laws and regulations. These all focus on Tenant / Landlord Relations which are intended to protect both sides - the tenants and the landlords - as fairly and justly as is possible.
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Let's take a quick peek at the process that leads up to the Tenant / Landlord Relations which involves rental marketing and then advertising rentals which is meant to attract the right tenants who will occupy the vacancy and pay for the privilege.
To advertise a rental property, the landlord can place ads in the local, the national or the international printed newspapers, periodicals or magazines. The landlord can also apply with agencies as well as post "For Rent" signs in front of the vacant property. But, since the World Wide Web (WWW) and the Internet have been invented, apartment advertising can be handled with much more effective.
Today, the Internet is filled with websites that are quick, easy and convenient as they provide beneficial services to landlords and tenants. For landlords, they provide the ultimate exposure to their vacant apartments by getting them listed in many online sites, search directories, social networks as well as video portals. For tenants, these online services are easy-to-get-to sources for listed vacant apartments.
Although the Internet has become the source for everything for many people, some still prefer taking the old fashioned route and that's OK because it take all kinds to make the world go around.Don't forget that we're talking about Relations here.
Whichever method of advertising the landlord chooses, it is up to him or her to investigate the desirability of the want-to-be tenant. In a similar way, it is the responsibility of the tenant to closely consider what is being offered (the apartment) and who is doing the offering (the landlord).
When the two sides are sure that they have found a good match, the Tenant / Landlord Relations begin with the signing of a written contract (or an agreement) which is legally endorsed by the local authorities. Such a contract must spell out the landlord's obligations, the tenant's commitments, and the means by which to resolve disputes between the two entities, if and when disputes arise.
As is true with all our relationships, Tenant / Landlord Relations are all about the rights, the obligations and the commitments of the landlord toward the tenant and vice versa, of the tenant toward the landlord.
Because every tenant deserves to live in a descent place, landlords must:
Provide apartment which comply with the minimum codes for the health and safety of the tenants. Do whatever they have to in order to sustain the rental quarters in conditions that are conducive to safety of their tenants. Ensure that the common areas of the rental property are safe. Keep all facilities, appliances and systems (electrical, plumbing, sanitation, heating, air conditioning, ventilation, and so on) in safe working conditions. Establish a well maintained system for removal of garbage. Supply clean running cold as well as hot water.
Because each and every landlord deserves thier property to be treated respectfully, tenants are obligated to:
Keep their rented spaces in compliance with health and safety. Keep their rented spaces clean and damage-free while occupying it. Leave the rented spaces as clean and damage-free upon vacancy as they found them when occupancy began. Use the system provided for removal of garbage safely. Use all provided facilities, appliances and systems (electrical, plumbing, sanitation, heating, air conditioning, ventilation, and so on) reasonably and safely. Refrain from purposely or carelessly damage, destroy, deface or remove any part of the rented space. Display considerate and peaceful behavior toward other tenants, landlords and/or neighbors. Adhere to all the dos and don'ts spelled out within the signed rental contract.
All quarrel or disagreements between tenants and landlords which cannot be peacefully resolved otherwise, are taken up in courts of law which are authorized to issue verdicts that can include monitory fines, jail sentences and a variety of community services.
Jul/090
Advertise Rentals – What You Need To Know
Because of the poor economy all over the world, people are losing their jobs which often results in their inability to make the mortgage payments which then leads to foreclosures. And those who have lost their homes still need a roof over their heads and so they look into marketing rentals as a viable and hopefully affordable option.
So, apartments marketing themselves, or rather landlords who advertise apartment rentals are snatched in record time and the industry is thriving more than ever.
Whether the prospective tenants are ones who have recently lost their homes, ones who have just moved into the city or are young persons who are moving out from under their parents' wings; they are most likely looking at apartments advertising on the various websites that appropriately advertise rental property, including apartments.
Browsing through rental property advertising is all fine and dandy but those who are hoping to make this work must realize that apartment living is not all that it's cracked up to be. Yes, they are separated by walls, floors and ceilings; but living in an apartment is like living in a big house with a bunch of strangers. And every one of these strangers (young and old) have their own different attitudes, peculiar personalities and unfamiliar states of mind.
Feelings can easily be hurt, emotions can quickly be aroused and conflicts can be evoked at a blink of an eye. Therefore, there are certain set of renting etiquettes to be followed or rules to apartment living, if you will.There are no guarantees, but renting etiquettes may prevent or stall unpleasant incidents which all too frequently take place between neighbors.
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The walls of apartment buildings are thin and the units are by no means sound proof. Therefore, nose is probably the single biggest challenge when living in an apartment. The most frequent contributors to bothersome noises are:
- Babies that cry. - Toddlers who run around and bang on noisy toys. - Household guests who speak loudly, stomp heavily and so on. - Television sets, radios, stereos, video games and so on which are set to high volumes. - Pets that bark, growl, mew, and chirp too loud, too often and too long. - Vacuuming and using washers, dryers and other machinery too early in the morning or too late at night.
Various types of behaviors in and around the apartment can prove to be problematic when:
- Standing around the windows or doors of other tenants. - Smoking must be limited to well ventilated areas and as far from other tenants as possible. - Littering common areas and throwing trash outside the designated garbage cans. - Allowing pets and children to run around common areas to scream, snap, snarl, pooh and pee at will. - Using and / or making drugs on the premises of the apartment complex. - Defacing any part of the apartment complex within the individual apartment or in the common areas. - Taking up parking spaces which have officially been assigned to other tenants or parking in such a way that blocks other tenants' vehicles from moving in or out of their parking spaces.
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For the most part, renting etiquettes are written into the rental contracts and are subject to eviction if defied.But even when they are not formally presented, renting etiquettes make tenants considerate neighbors which is, obviously, far more desirable than the other kind.